The Big 100.

This is Keep Not Settling's 100th post!!! Can you believe it? This little shindig is 100 posts old! CRAZINESS!

When thinking about what I wanted to write about for this ultra-exciting post, I pretty much drew a blank. What do I say? Who's even going to care? Is it really that important to celebrate? (The answers are: whatever you want, people, and yes, respectively).

So... this is what I've come up with: 

I just want to send out a quick thank you to everyone who reads this blog on a regular basis. Although I started Keep Not Settling for myself and it continues to be an area of happiness and serenity (as weird as that sounds) in my life, the most gratifying part of blogging is knowing that there are so many people who enjoy reading.

When I made the spontaneous decision to start blogging, I never anticipated that it would grow to be what it is today. I might be the one typing up these posts and sharing them to social media, but I'm just a small part of what Keep Not Settling is. Whether you're a family friend who's been reading just to keep up with my college shenanigans, or you stumbled across this blog randomly, you rock.

My hope is that you'll continue to grow with me as KNS makes its way towards 200. 

Keep not settling,

How to Catch Up.

There was a week-long period this month when I just did. not. stop. I had a long list of things that absolutely had to be finished before spring break. Most of it was reading which, I'll admit, is the most tedious task in the world. No matter how much I love reading about the Middle East, fifty pages later, I'm pretty much dead.

But I did it.
My entire list was completed. Two days earlier than I planned, actually.
Here's how I caught up on my list:

• Write it all down. I can't even count how many times I've advocated for physical to-do lists on this blog, but I'll say it again just in case you forgot. The easiest way to get started on a busy schedule is to write it down on paper. Visualize it. 

• Stay focused. It's really easy for me to be distracted, especially when I have amazing friends I'd love to spend time with. But I knew that the list was going to linger in the back of my mind regardless of what I was doing, so it was vital that the homework get finished first. To stay focused, I made sure that I studied alone. 

• Tackle the big things first. For me, the "big" things on my list were two relatively short essays. Just five pages each, no biggie. The problem? They're time-consuming! I made sure that I tackled these big projects first, before I lost brain power and energy. 

• Reward yourself. My "rewards" came at the end of the day -- an episode or two of Make It or Break It, a movie, or a few hours in the student center with friends. 

Overall, the most important part is to keep the end in sight. I knew that if I could power through the week of studying and hardcore effort, that spring break would be completely stress free, and I would be able to enjoy my mom's visit. 

Keep not settling,

image credit. 

Weekly Roundup.

ONE | Renovations

One of the most exciting things ever happened this spring break... my family bought a house!! After fifteen years of renting in California, my parents have made the amazing decision to buy a house here in North Carolina! Not only am I super excited to have a new room to design as I see fit (hence my board on Pinterest), it's also going to be so nice to have them closer to me. 

Mom and I have already started conspiring about what we're going to do spruce up the inside... Bye-bye white walls! 

TWO | DIYs 

I've been super into finding unique and easy DIYs like this one on Pinterest lately! There's so much out there to try... I can't wait for the summertime when I actually have the hours in my day to do LOTS of DIYing. 

THREE | Planner Perfect 

img. 

It's no secret that I'm obsessed with planners. Simply obsessed. This is old news if you've known me since my sophomore year of high school. Recently on Instagram, I've started following planner decorators.... I might need to jump on board with this next year. 

FOUR | Lilly Pulitzer x Target 

To say that I'm excited for the release of Lilly + Target would be an understatement. The items in the collection were just released on Target's website and I'm so impressed. The essence of the Lilly Pulitzer brand has been relayed perfectly into an everyday affordable line. Smart marketing, if I do say so myself. 

Keep not settling,

Keep Not Settling Playlist #3

There's been so much going on lately, and I've been experiencing some serious blogging withdrawals.   But it's ok because KNS is back in full swing! Spring Break is this week, and I ended up with a pretty nasty cold (my fifth time being sick this school year....yay) but now that I'm feeling better, writing is at the top of my schedule. 

OH, and my mom is here with me!!! Double yay! Some pretty amazing things have happened since she's been here. I'm so glad she's here with me. Unfortunately, she has to go home this weekend. Boo. 

I've been listening to a lot of music this month. There have been days when my Spotify playlists keep my sane. So here's a playlist of the songs I've had stuck on repeat...

Keep not settling,

Sweet Briar.

One thing that's weighed heavy on many minds at Salem College in the last week has been the closing of Sweet Briar College. Having to see another women's institution close it's doors is heartbreaking, not just for Sweet Briar students but also for every other women's college attendee. 

Salem has done an outstanding job at reaching out to Sweet Briar over the last few days, and I thought it would be good to collect it all in one place, especially considering that those who read Keep Not Settling know how much Salem has affected my life. I hope that, come next fall, we get the chance to know some of our Sweet Briar sisters. 

ONE | Solidarity in Sisterhood 

TWO | A letter from the President 

Salem's president, the incredible Dr. Sterritt, sent out this letter of support on March 4th.  I don't think President Sterritt could have better relayed how sad we are to hear the news, but also about how proud the Salem community is in being able to thrive in a world that has been incredibly hard on women's institutions in recent years. 

THREE | In the News 

This article was published on 88.5 WFDD's website on the 5th about Salem's outreach to Sweet Briar. I personally think that this article was extremely well-written and properly articulates the importance of women's colleges. "... how to speak up for themselves, how to lead, and how to be prepared for a co-ed world..."

Like I've said before, I hope we're given the opportunity to welcome some Sweet Briar students to campus in the near future. As shocking as it is to hear that this wonderful college won't be a part of our community next year, it's been amazing to hear student and alumnae testimonies on how choosing a women's college has been their best decision. It's a bold reminder for all of us at Salem to treasure every moment we have on this beautiful campus. 

Strong are thy walls, O Salem.

Weekly Roundup.

ONE | Stick It 

I honestly don't know how I haven't seen this movie before. If you've read Keep Not Settling before or just know me in real life, you'll probably know that I'm majorly obsessed with gymnastics, and I super duper wish that I had those skills (sigh). This movie is a little silly, and some of the details are not-so-accurate, but I'm glad I watched it! 

TWO | Legend of the NeverBeast

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS. I pride myself in having seen every Tinkerbell movie released, and I have plans to curl up and rent this one tonight! I feel like such a little kid when I talk about how much I love the Tinkerbell movie series, but oh well! 

THREE | The "American" Rainbow Fish

This is a hilarious "adaption" of the very popular children's book, The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister. I remember reading this book when I was little, but this new "Americanized" version is even better. My roommate and I had a good laugh over this while writing up some journals for our economics class. Enjoy. 

FOUR | Russian Acrobatic Gymnastics

Back to my love of gymnastics. When I'm bored, I find myself in the part of youtube that showcases a lot of different gymnastics performances, whether that be from previous Olympic cycles, or random national/world competitions. But I'd never seen anything quite like this before, until my Big posted it on my Facebook timeline. Check this out. The human body shouldn't even be able to do what they do.

FIVE | Ellen Pompeo. 

I just love this. That is all.

Keep not settling,

The Week From Hell.

This last week has been, by far, the worst week of the semester so far.
Let me just tell you, catching up from two weeks of poorly-timed snow days is not fun, especially when your classes only meet twice a week.

I've gotten a few questions about where I've been this week regarding Keep Not Settling and, to be completely honest, it got shoved to the waaaaay-backburner. If there was any way that I could've managed putting up consistent posts throughout the last week, I would have. But there was no way.

A full night's sleep was also out of the question several nights this week. There was more than once that I saw 1 AM... and I'm pretty sure there was one night where I said "lights out" at 2:30. Ouch.
Every assignment that would have been due during the snow days got pushed to Tuesday. Just to put it into perspective... that was about 20 hours worth of assignments. Double Ouch.

Even if I didn't want to, I learned a lot this week about the importance of sacrifice.

But... I was able to sit down last night and map out everything that needs to be done before spring break starts on the 20th, and now that I'm feeling more confident about where things are headed, I'm back to blogging. It bothered me so, so much not to be putting posts up over the last week, but I will say that I've come back with a refreshed plate and a mind full of ideas.

Oh, the struggles of a college student.
Thanks for sticking with me.

Keep not settling,

18.

Yesterday I celebrated my eighteenth birthday.
 Fun fact: Josh Groban and I were both born on February 27th. As far as I know, he's the only relatively "famous" person who has my birthday.

I spent the day with my amazing friends, plus I had a FaceTime session or two with my mom and one of my best friends from home. The evening consisted of a wonderful trip to Olive Garden with a dozen of the most wonderful people I know here at Salem. I'm so grateful to be able to live so close to smart, wonderful, and funny women.

Fun fact: I get the same dish every time I visit olive garden. Seafood Alfredo. No lies. 

I only ate half so I could take the rest home for lunch today. Plus an extra chicken and gnocchi soup. AND they gave me extra breadsticks and about a thousand andes mints just because it was my birthday. Thank you, Olive Garden! 

My friends got me a slice of black tie mousse cake with a fancy-schmancy candle on it (which I kept). And then when we got back to Salem, my absolutely perfect roommate baked me a cake with my name on it. I love her so much. 

This was the first birthday I've ever spent away from home, without a trip to the mall with my mom for five or six hours, and without a sleep over with my two best friends. So I have my Salem sisters to thank for making 18 the best birthday possible.

Keep not settling, 

Weekly Roundup.

As I mentioned in my last post, this week has been absolutely nuts. Yesterday we had our fourth snow day in two weeks, which means that I've now missed 3 sessions of my Tuesday and Thursday classes, and 2 Monday classes. Ugh. Nevertheless, the snow has given me some seriously amazing time to catch up on homework and find some pretty neat things for this week's Roundup! 

ONE | Yet another snow day 

I took this picture this morning in the Salem Square! Everything looked so white and clean. Hopefully my SD card will work soon, because I have almost 100 shots that are a heck of a lot better than this. You can guarantee that I'll be posting them as soon as my computer doesn't freak out every time I put my SD card in. 

TWO | An inspirational quote 

I think there's a lot to be said in this quote. Failure is a hard thing to deal with, but it's necessary to know what "greatness" actually is. 

THREE | The Economist 

I'm required to read the Economist for my ECON100 class, and since the online version only lets your read 3 articles weekly for free (tear), I opted to subscribe. Let me just say... I love it. Like every news magazine, it has it's flaws, but it's pretty great all around.  

FOUR | Lilly Pulitzer Spring 2015 

To say that I'm obsessed with Lilly Pulitzer's latest prints would be an understatement. I've always been a fan, but this year has been A+++ so far. 

FIVE | Rifle Paper Co x Paper Crown 

Rifle Paper Co. has been on my radar for quite a while now, and their latest collaboration -- with Paper Crown (Lauren Conrad) -- is absolutely perfect. I really wish the iPhone case was available for the 5S, because I'd have my hands all over it. Plus, how cute are those notebooks? 

Keep not settling,

Seventeen.

Short note before we dive into today's content: This week has been absolutely crazy. It seems like all of my professors have chosen this week to have everything due. I've been swamped (so much so that it's even in my dreams.. like, what?). BUT, today was another snow day! So I've had the chance to catch up on pretty much everything that's needed my attention. Thanks everyone for sticking around and continuing to read Keep Not Settling in the last few days, even though there hasn't been much new to see! Sometimes, life really does get in the way.

ANYWAYS.

I turn eighteen on the 27th.
AKA in 3 days.

A lot has happened in the last year, and I thought it would be interesting to writ up a blog post about some of the highlights of being seventeen, by month!

• March: Two weeks after turning 17 I flew back up to Winston-Salem to accept my offer at Salem in person! I also attended Applicant Overnight. Paying my housing deposit in the business office was surreal. 

• April: Frankly, all I can remember of April is my last spring break of high school and lots and lots and lots of homework. Spring semester of senior year pretty much sucked up every second of my day and night.  

• May: High school graduation. Enough said. 

• June: This month actually wasn't too exciting, just normal summer-y stuff like working, spending time with friends, chilling... you know. The usual. 

• July: Keep Not Settling came into existence! Little did I know, when I started this blog, how greatly it would affect my life. Honestly, it was probably one of my best decisions of Summer 2014.  

• August: Salem College! My mom and I flew up (again) about a few days in advance to get everything I needed before move-in. We had an absolute blast. Plus, orientation and the first day of classes about a week later. 

• September: My first FALL FEST! Heck yes. Other than Big/Little, I think Fall Fest is my favorite Salem tradition. It was such an incredible day, and many of my friends and I still talk about it regularly (plus, we're already starting to team up for next year). 

• October: I visited Washington D.C. for the day with about 50 other Salem students early on this month, danced in the rain with west coast friends, and actually started to feel like Salem was truly my home in October. 

• November: I'll be honest, most of this month was spent preparing for Thanksgiving Break: getting caught up and ahead on homework, projects, etc. so I didn't have much to do for those wonderful 4 days. One of my amazing friends brought me home to be with her family for Thanksgiving since I couldn't fly home... it was amazing. 

• December: The first semester of college is officially over. I honestly cannot believe how quickly the months flew by. Most of the beginning of December is a blur, with finals and projects and presentations, but the second half of the month -- being home with my family and friends -- that was A+++. 

• January: My trip to Vienna & Prague! I actually have an installment of blog posts written about this, so if you want to know more, click here, here, here, and here. 

• February: Spring semester starts, lots of good vibes going on this month. I have some exciting projects coming up, both for school and recreationally, and I can't wait until I can actually write about them in an official manner. Plus, I still can't believe it's been a year since my first visit to Salem. 

And there it is, seventeen in one blog post. 

Oh, and if you're wondering how I feel about eighteen... you'll read about that soon ;) 

Keep not settling,

Looking forward to...

There are several things I'm looking forward to in the near (and not-so-near) future. As much as I've been trying to stay focused on the present lately, I can't help but think about some of the exciting things that are coming up in the next few weeks and months: 

• Mom's coming to NC! Yes, that's right! She's visiting me over Spring Break! Originally, the plan was for me to go home, but the tables have turned, and that's super exciting. We're going to have lots of fun, I'm sure. 

• Eighteen. I turn 18 on the 27th... Crazy. I remember when I was little, it seemed like forever between birthdays.. and now it's like all of a sudden, I only have 6 days of seventeen left. Bummer. 

• Model UN. I've gotten involved with some new things on campus, and one of the most exciting ones is Model UN! There's a regional conference coming up in April, and I'm pumped to see how that goes. This fits in perfectly with my love for political science. 

• Taylor Swift! Yesterday, my Big and I got tickets to see Taylor Swift's 1989 tour! It's not until October, but we have sweet seats. After nine years of being a fan, I'm finally getting the opportunity to see one of my favorite artists in person. 

Keep not settling,

image credit. 

Weekly Roundup.

This week has been something else, that's for sure. Between snow days and school days, being overloaded with reading for classes and having two major assignments due next week... ouch. Nevertheless, I've found some things that I wanted to share with you. 

ONE | Make It or Break It 

If there's one thing I've been a huge fan of (again) lately, it's been Make It or Break It. I used to watch this show all the time when it was on ABC Family, and then I watched it again when it was on Netflix. Now, it's on Hulu, and I'm enjoying it all over again. Binge TV much... well.. yep. It got me through the snow day. 

TWO | Rainbow Rumble 

Along with MIOBI, Rainbow Rumble was a good distraction from how freaking cold it was this week... especially when I spent 100% of the time stuck inside my room. It's kind of like Bejeweled meets Candy Crush... talk about addicting. 

THREE | Formal Dresses

Formal is tonight and I couldn't be more excited about it. Because I was homeschooled throughout my entire life, I never went to any of the über cliche high school dances, so I'm finally getting the chance to now that I'm in college. 

Keep not settling,

My Life in Instagram Photos #5

Heyaaaa. I thought it would be fun to do a My Life in Instagram Photos update since it's been about a month since my last one!

• Top Left: I posted this quote a while ago because it really resonated with me. I think there's something so important about recognizing that sometimes, we have to fight for who we are and what we want to be... but it's even more important to appreciate that we're here. 

• Top Right: There's nothing I love more than coffee and Pinterest in the morning. This was actually one of the last mornings that I actually had coffee before cutting back on caffeine... let me just say that the days after this were hard. Really hard. 

• Bottom Left: I posted this picture right after I got my mask for formal. This year, the theme is Masquerade: A Night in Paris, and I'm so excited. This is my first official formal dance, since I was homeschooled throughout high school, so it should be interesting, to say the least! It's coming up on Saturday night! 

• Bottom Right: I've been talking about Scholarship Weekend here on the blog quite a bit in the last few days, and it translated over to Instagram pretty quickly after we all attended the hostess matchup meeting last Thursday! I wish I had more pictures to reflect on the weekend, but that's ok! It was still an amazing time. 

See you tomorrow for Weekly Roundup!

Keep not settling,

Snowy Days.

The last few days here at Salem have been interesting, to say the least. 

Scholarship Weekend was followed quickly by a night of snow, snowmageddon (AKA 1-3 inches) as many on campus -- those who aren't used to snow -- called it. 

The school closed yesterday due to the whiteness and icy roads, and we had a delayed start this morning. As much as I love going to class, I think this snow came at the perfect time... everyone was absolutely exhausted from Scholarship Weekend, and it was nice to have a day just to relax (read: catch up on homework). 

Here was the view from my window on Monday after about an hour or two of snow. Today, most of the fluffy snow has melted and we're down to just the hard, icy stuff. Yuck. 

Even though it probably doesn't look like much to anyone who lives in the north or the mountains, it's a big deal to everyone around here. Let me tell you, the salt they put on the ground here is closer to table salt than rock salt... it's actually kind of sad.

I never believed people when they told me that North Carolina winters started at the end of January. I thought the snow last year when I was a prospective student at Scholarship Weekend was just a fluke. Well... I was wrong. 

 Keep not settling,

6 Months.

It's been six months since I moved to North Carolina...

Wait. What?

This weekend I mentioned to an out-of-state prospective student that I usually don't realize how far away Salem is from California. I've made so many amazing friends and connections here that, on a day-to-day basis, North Carolina has become my home in many ways. 

Even though my immediate family isn't always with me, I talk to them -- and my amazing friends back home -- often enough that I don't get homesick. I guess that's why it's surprised me that the last six months have gone by so fast.

When I chose Salem College, I was constantly asked if I was ready to move so far away from California. "Of course," I always responded, because I knew that I couldn't spend the rest of my life on the west coast. Choosing to move across the country for college was probably the best decision I've made in a very long time, and the last six months have proven that over and over again to me.

In the last six months, I've grown close with many people in my building and classes, I've developed personal relationships with professors who mean the absolute world to me (and who have changed my perspective on many things), and I've gotten a whole lot smarter, not just in the book-sense. 

I can already tell that, after graduation, I'm going to have a heck of a hard time leaving. 

Keep not settling,